A young boy's quest to avenge the death of his father leads to a coming of age story like no other. This is a wonderful portrait of America between the wars, in all her confidence and innocence, just like Sheldon himself. By the time he reaches his thirteenth birthday, Sheldon Horowitz has been orphaned - twice. But while a terrible accident took his mother, he is convinced that his father was murdered. Sadly, no one else thinks so, least of all the police, but that doesn't stop him wanting to track down the culprit. Leaving behind his only friend, Lenny, he is deposited with cousins in Hartford, Connecticut. But it's 1936, times are tight and Sheldon is told to keep his head down. But he has other ideas. Fired up by his politically engaged cousin Abe, and quite possibly in love with his other cousin Mirabelle, he sets on a quest for vengeance. It will take him from industrial Hartford to a bustling hotel in the Catskills, and on to the Big Apple, Sheldon will grow up into a world in which he has to make his own luck. Fortunately, that's one thing he's very good at...